Advice to new NCL cruisers

[cloud_nine]

We usually cruise with Royal Caribbean, but we're looking at the Norwegian Star out of Venice in August, as RCI have priced us out this year (a suite on their Venice itinerary at the same time is almost £2000 more expensive!)

 

Anyway, we'd be in an aft penthouse suite and have the all inclusive deal they're offering in the UK (drink package, gratuities, 60 mins of WiFi a day and $100 OBC). Has anyone here sailed both RCI and NCL who can give a bit of a comparison of the two? Any tips or advice would be much appreciated as I have only ever sailed RCI (and once on Carnival - the less said about that the better though) and I'm a bit of a planner so like to know as much as possible before I book.

[oxfordgirl20]

1 hour ago, cloud_nine said:

We usually cruise with Royal Caribbean, but we're looking at the Norwegian Star out of Venice in August, as RCI have priced us out this year (a suite on their Venice itinerary at the same time is almost £2000 more expensive!)

 

Anyway, we'd be in an aft penthouse suite and have the all inclusive deal they're offering in the UK (drink package, gratuities, 60 mins of WiFi a day and $100 OBC). Has anyone here sailed both RCI and NCL who can give a bit of a comparison of the two? Any tips or advice would be much appreciated as I have only ever sailed RCI (and once on Carnival - the less said about that the better though) and I'm a bit of a planner so like to know as much as possible before I book.

Hi, I’ve sailed with RCI three times and NCL once, August 2018. Loved all four cruises but agree that RCI have got much pricier recently and I can’t see

what they offer over and above NCL, although having said that, I slightly prefer the RCI ships (Navigator and Liberty) as I found their Atriums a bit brighter/airier, and definitely their theatres are smarter than the one on the NCL Breakaway.  However, the refurbished theatre on the NCL Star looks great.

 

There were also things we preferred about NCL eg the Garden Cafe is far superior to the Windjammer.

 

Formal nights on RCI are dressier - on the 9 day NCL cruise last year, my daughter and I wore our usual maxi dress/cocktail dress that we always felt slightly underdressed in, on RCI, and found that we were definitely overdressed by others’ standards! But it didn’t matter at all.

 

NCL has a more relaxed fun feel and the staff were all excellent, as they have been on our RCI cruises.

 

And the mini suite with balcony on the NCL Breakaway was lovely, just as good as the RCI balcony rooms. 

 

Enjoyed all four cruise experiences and have booked NCL again this year, mainly because of the cost and also because this will be my first on my own (because my daughter is going to Australia to study for 6 months so I’ve lost my usual travelling companion!), and NCL are much better/cheaper for solo travellers.  

Edited January 6, 2019 by oxfordgirl20

[cloud_nine]

Oh, thanks very much for this! My mum and I are the same with the maxi dress/cocktail dress type of evening wear. We don't mind being overdressed, so long as we know in advance. I'm looking forward to trying something new actually!

[oxfordgirl20]

27 minutes ago, cloud_nine said:

Oh, thanks very much for this! My mum and I are the same with the maxi dress/cocktail dress type of evening wear. We don't mind being overdressed, so long as we know in advance. I'm looking forward to trying something new actually!

 

You’re very welcome. I’m sure you’ll enjoy it - we loved the RCI cruises and were reluctant to switch cruise lines but definitely didn’t regret it; there are pros and cons about both. 

[YVRBassElectric]

I have sailed RCI twice (10+ on NCL), I don't like eating and the same time & place every night, I would prefer not to decide in advance when I am going to eat. So I prefer NCL to RCI and NCL ships older than Breakaway

 

The Star is a nice sized ship, you will only need to book specialty restaurants (extra $) in advance - Cagney's is most popular, I like Moderno (meat is cooked medium to well done)

 

Food included in your fare:

Blue Lagoon (has been updated & replaced on most ships) is the 24 restaurant - casual pub food

2 MDRs, one will have a dress code, one doesn't 

Buffet will be open most of the time from 6:30 am to 11pm (details in the Freestyle daily)

 

Enjoy your cruise

[cloud_nine]

Thanks for the info! I didn't realise one of the MDR would have a dress code, so that's good to know. And I am already liking how late the buffet stays open compared to RCI.

[graphicguy]

Platinum on both NCL (the beginning of their top tiers) and Platinum on RCCL (mid tier).

 

If you’re in the AFT PENTHOUSE, you’ll have access to the concierge and butler, which is a special treat with NCL.  Once on board, they can take care of EVERYTHING for you....from suite snacks, to dinner and entertainment reservations, to escorting you on and off the ship.  Find them first (or, they’ll probably find you first).

 

Star was just refurbished, too.  So, it should be bright and shiny.

 

Closest size on NCL I’ve sailed was the GEM.  Last RCCL ship I sailed was the Anthem which is much larger than the Star.  Different ships with different experiences.  One isn’t better than the other.

 

You’re getting “all the goodies” with NCL with the perks.  So, that will be fun.

 

I like RCCL entertainment, as it’s very good.  I consider NCL’s entertainment to be the best at sea, though.

 

Like the Italian Restaurant on RCCL ships better than NCL’s Italian.  Specialty steak restaurants on both lines are about equal.   LeBistro on NCL is special, with nothing similar on RCCL ships.

 

I’ve never found MDRs on either line to be bad...same with the different buffets.  Probably more similar than different in the MDRs and buffets.

 

Serivce will be the big differentiator with NCL, which will be significantly better.

 

Have fun!

[cloud_nine]

Thanks graphicguy! It's great to hear about the entertainment - that was one of the things I was worried about as it's a smaller ship (smallest we've done on RCI was Jewel and we found the entertainment a bit meh on her). Wasn't sure if it would be very good or not. I'm definitely going to try Le Bistro and La Cucina as we've got three specialty dinners included from booking the suite and Le Bistro sounds great. Thanks for the comparison, it's good to hear other people's perspectives!